Have you ever looked at a charge on your credit card statement and thought "what the heck is that?" If so, you're certainly not alone. Double charges, hidden fees, unauthorized purchases, and zombie subscriptions that were canceled months ago can plague anyone's credit card bill.

The Credit Card Act of 2009 bans credit cards for young adults under the age of 21 unless they can show proof of sufficient income or secure a co-signer. Most students are aware of this change now that it's been a few years since the act was signed into law, but what's confusing is there are still plenty of student credit cards on the market that claim "no co-signer is required."

I was even confused the first time I saw this offered after the new rules took effect, so what's the deal? Are co-signatures really required or not for student credit cards?

United and Continental merged both their reservation systems and websites over the weekend, which was essentially the last big step in their transition towards operating as one airline. As you might expect, there have been reports of some minor system glitches and delayed flights across the country today, but it appears that the transition has been an overall success for United. The successful merger of United and Continental also presented the perfect opportunity for Chase to launch a new version of its popular MileagePlus Card, which is now called the United MileagePlus Explorer Card. Here's a brief breakdown of the pros, cons, and my final take on how the United MileagePlus Explorer stacks up against its competition.

I'm not a big advocate of credit builder loans because they essentially promote taking on debt for the sole purpose of building credit, and I don't think that's a very smart way to approach the credit-scoring game. However, credit builder loans might be a decent option for those who feel like their back is up against the wall because they've run out of traditional ways to build credit. If this includes you, here's a brief explanation of how credit builder loans work and why you might find them useful on your credit-building journey.